The Austin-based smart grid initiative is now Pecan Street Inc., operating as a nonprofit research group. And it’s positioning itself to transition from a largely government-funded entity to one that would also generate some of its income from corporate customers using Pecan Street’s facility to develop products, officials said.

The group, which employs 11 workers, was formed to test the effect renewable energy sources have on existing utility grids. About 450 homes — 250 of which are in the Mueller community north of downtown — are voluntarily participating in the project, spokesman Colin Rowan said.

Rowan declined to disclose what portion of Pecan Street’s income is now generated by corporations or what that portion is expected to be in coming years.

A federal filing required of all nonprofits reveals that Pecan Street’s budget tripled during the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, 2011, versus the previous year. The group received $2.2 million in grants and contributions versus $723,000 during fiscal 2010.

It listed $1.1 million in expenses under the “other” category, and Pecan Street’s largest itemized cost was $400,000 to the Colorado-based Alliance for Sustainable Energy LLC, according to the filing with the Internal Revenue Service.

The Alliance for Sustainable Energy, an affiliate of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, managed the initial portion of Pecan Street’s research trial to develop a testing methodology, Rowan said.

Alliance for Sustainable Energy was formed in 2009 by Ohio-based Battelle Memorial Institute and Missouri-based MRIGlobal to manage the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado for the U.S. Department of Energy. The $1.1 billion contract was for five years and may be extended for up to five additional years.

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